The funds will be used to develop and conduct training program for public entities

Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law at UH Mānoa’s William S. Richardson School of Law will develop and conduct a Native Hawaiian law training program for public councils, boards, and commissions. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) has committed $150,000 for Ka Huli Ao to develop and implement the training program. Ka Huli Ao staff and faculty, as well as other legal and cultural experts, will develop the training program.

“We are honored to partner with OHA in this endeavor,” stated Ka Huli Ao Director Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie. MacKenzie explained, “Many councils, boards, and commissions administer public trust resources and programs directly impacting Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights, iwi kūpuna or ancestral remains, natural resources, and public trust lands. State laws place a duty on our government to protect and preserve these rights. In addition, there is a fiduciary duty to administer public trust resources in the interest of the beneficiaries—all of the citizens of Hawai‘i—including Native Hawaiians."

The training program provides an opportunity for members of state councils, boards, and commissions to learn of the unique rights and responsibilities that relate to the Native Hawaiian community. The training course will include experts with legal, historical, and cultural knowledge. The course will also focus on key state laws, state constitutional provisions, and court decisions that reaffirm and provide for the protection of Native Hawaiian rights. A discussion of the importance of public trust resources will also be included. The course is slated to be offered, free-of-charge, to members of councils, boards, and commissions in Fall 2012.

Established with federal funding in 2005 at the William S. Richardson School of Law, Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, is an academic center that promotes education, scholarship, community outreach, and collaboration on issues of law, culture, and justice for Native Hawaiians and other Pacific and Indigenous peoples.